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PKCiota oncogene essential for lung cancer stem cell proliferation

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that the lung cancer oncogene PKCiota is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells. These stem cells are rare and powerful master cells that manufacture the other cells that make up lung tumors and are resistant to chemotherapy treatment.

9 Sep 2009

Study to test efficacy of lapatinib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Use of the molecularly targeted agent lapatinib to delay tumor growth and improve the survival of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer, only benefited certain subgroups of patients. While results of this study were largely negative, patients that exhibited toxicity from the drug in the form of a skin rash appeared to have a greater tumor response and longer survival.

9 Sep 2009

New technique for tumor therapy under study

In the scientific journal PLoS ONE, Sara Bartels and Siegfried Weiss of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany now show how the bacteria migrate into tumours. A messenger substance from the immune system is the door opener: It makes blood vessels in the cancerous tissue permeable; enabling the bacteria to conquer and destroy the tumour.

9 Sep 2009

Research study highlights unique aspects of tumor immunology

Immune responses are capable of killing tumors before they can be directed toward normal body tissue, according to new scientific findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

9 Sep 2009

Cell Biosciences acquires Alpha Innotech for $17.9 million

Cell Biosciences, Inc. and Alpha Innotech Corp. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of Alpha Innotech by Cell Biosciences for $1.50 per share, or approximately $17.9 million in cash.

9 Sep 2009

New procedure used for breast cancer surgery

Breast cancer surgeons and radiation oncologists at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange performed a new procedure combining removal of a patient’s breast tumor with the power of electron beam radiation in the operating room.

8 Sep 2009

Axel Ullrich receives the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research

Johnson & Johnson today honored the career achievements of Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., with the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. Dr. Ullrich received this award for his scientific discoveries that led to innovative new drugs including Herceptin((R)) (trastuzumab)*, a personalized medicine therapy, which was the first to target a specific type of breast cancer.

8 Sep 2009

Chronic periodontitis linked to head and neck cancer

Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This suggests the need for increased efforts to prevent and treat periodontitis as a possible means to reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

8 Sep 2009

Cognitive abilities decline more for people with Alzheimer's disease due to infections

Getting a cold, stomach bug or other infection may lead to increased memory loss in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the September 8, 2009, print issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Sep 2009

Specific targeting of brain tumors with an optical/magnetic resonance imaging nanoprobe across the blood-brain barrier

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Washington reported that they had developed a toxin-nanoparticle combination that inhibits brain cancer invasion when added to tumor cells growing in culture.

7 Sep 2009

Nanotubes destroy kidney tumors

By injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, a multi-institutional team of researchers from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSOM), Wake Forest University Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, Rice University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has developed a new type of therapy that effectively kills kidney tumors in nearly 80% of treated mice. Researchers say that the findings, which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, suggest a potential future cancer treatment for humans.

7 Sep 2009

Nanoparticle-delivered suicide gene therapy effectively reduces ovarian tumor burden in mice

Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA that expresses selectively in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect that this therapy could be tested in humans with advanced ovarian cancer within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research. If additional tests are successful, these finding could lead to a new treatment for ovarian cancer, which now causes more than 15,000 deaths each year in the United States. Because it is usually diagnosed at a relatively late stage, ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly forms of the disease.

7 Sep 2009

Reversible cell-specific drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized liposomes

For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug also must spare healthy cells, and ideally its effects will be reversible to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects. Investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that they have assembled a new cancer drug delivery system that, in cell culture, achieves all of the above.

7 Sep 2009

Molecularly targeted nanocarriers deliver the cytolytic peptide melittin specifically to tumor cells in mice, reducing tumor growth

When bees sting, they pump into their victims a peptide toxin called melittin that destroys cell membranes. Now, by encapsulating this extremely potent molecule within a nanoparticle, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have created a potential new type of anticancer therapy with the potential to target a wide range of tumors. This work was reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

7 Sep 2009

Identifying a specific molecular signature can help customize cancer treatment

A molecular signature that helps account for the aggressive behavior of a variety of cancers such as pancreatic, breast and melanoma may also predict the likelihood of successful treatment with a particular anti-cancer drug. The finding, which could lead to a personalized approach to treatment for a variety of solid tumors that are currently resistant to therapies, will be published September 6 in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine.

7 Sep 2009

Biogen Idec offers to completely acquire Facet

Biogen Idec’s interest in acquiring Facet was first conveyed on August 17, 2009 by Mr. Mullen to Faheem Hasnain, President and Chief Executive Officer of Facet.

5 Sep 2009

ChromoCure forges co-development agreement for chromosomal scanner system

ChromoCure, Inc. announced today it executed a Technology Co-Development Agreement with its primary cell preparation and application technology supplier. The co-development agreement calls for the joint-development of a fully integrated chromosomal scanner system for nation-wide distribution to pathology and related cancer detection labs.

5 Sep 2009

Researchers study tumor diversity to improve breast cancer treatment

One person's breast cancer is not the same as another person's, because the gene mutations differ in each tumor. That makes it difficult to match the best therapy with the individual patient.

5 Sep 2009

Delcath Systems to present abstract at ILCA Annual Conference

Delcath Systems, Inc., a medical technology company testing its proprietary treatment method for primary and metastatic cancers to the liver, announced that Dr. James F. Pingpank, Associate Professor of Surgery for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine will present an abstract at the International Liver Cancer Association's (ILCA) Third Annual Conference on Saturday, September 5, 2009 in Milan, Italy.

4 Sep 2009

Two new da Vinci Si HD Surgical System robots added to Swedish Medical Center

As one of the first medical centers in the Northwest to perform robot-assisted surgery, Swedish Medical Center is home to the fastest-growing and most experienced robot-assisted surgical program in the region. Swedish established the multidisciplinary robot-assisted surgical program in 2005 and has since performed more than 2,000 robot-assisted surgeries, more than any other program in the region.

4 Sep 2009